Watching the World
A Solvable Mystery
◆ In a recent discussion of the origin and development of the universe, Britain’s New Scientist magazine noted that scientists “claim, by and large, to be able to describe in great detail” how the universe arrived at the state it is in today. However, the writer admits that “the instant of creation remains a mystery (maybe God did make it, after all).” He adds that the “fact that the subsequent history of the Universe can be explained in a self-consistent way by the laws of physics . . . is the most persuasive and dramatic evidence of the value of the scientific method.” Does not that same “scientific method,” consistently applied, also point to the fact that there must be a great Cause behind the “instant of creation” and a powerful Lawmaker behind the “laws of physics”?
Half a Year in Outer Space
◆ When two Soviet cosmonauts returned from orbiting in space last August, they had spent a record 175 days in a space station. How did they feel? Said Vladimir Lyakhov: “We could have stayed up there longer, but we are really glad to have our feet on the ground.” However, they had trouble adjusting to earth’s gravitational pull, and they were carried from their capsule. Doctors resisted their initial efforts to stand on their feet, as it was felt that it would take some time for them to adjust gradually to earth’s gravity. Cosmonaut Valery Ryumin explained further: “In the descent the force of gravity is supposed to be four times normal but it felt to us like eight. Now we feel as though it’s still two or three, and it’s difficult to get the tongue around words.”
Sign of the Times
◆ With the number of bank robberies setting new records each month last summer in New York city, one bank decided to put up a sign for would-be robbers. In each of its 10 offices, the Banco de Ponce posted by the tellers’ booths these words: “Attention Would-Be Bank Robbers. This is a Spanish-speaking bank. If you intend to rob us, please be patient for we might need an interpreter. Thank you, The Management.” A banker explained the sign by saying: “We’ve had situations where a robber comes in talking English very fast and demanding money. Our people are bilingual, but they feel more at ease in Spanish and deal with Spanish-speaking customers all day. To be caught off guard and in a shocking situation they could revert to Spanish that the robber could interpret to be an underhanded signal to anybody.”
Spiders to the Rescue
◆ For some years now China has used chemical pesticides on rice crops to control harmful insects, but, in some provinces, the heavy use of pesticides has backfired. Said a report from the New China News Agency: “In previous years rice-growing areas in the south used large amounts of highly effective pesticides. As a result the spiders as well as the pests were killed and the harmful insects developed resistance to the pesticides. Thus they increased in number.” To solve the problem, agricultural researchers and workers investigated the use of bug-eating spiders. They found 125 species that devour crop pests, 10 of them being extraordinarily good as pest eradicators. By last year more than 160,600 acres were under spider control. Said the report: “Since the spiders are voracious, they can destroy most of the harmful insects in the fields in six days when their number is 1 to 20 in proportion to that of the harmful insects.”
Religious Classes Optional
◆ The Spanish government has published an official decree that makes school religious classes in that country optional. Such classes were formerly mandatory, but, under the terms of the constitution adopted last year, Catholicism is no longer the state religion.
Lottery Frustration
◆ A 42-year-old Toronto, Canada, electronics technician was recently enticed by a lottery advertisement: “Win instantly $1 million in gold” and “Picture yourself as a millionaire.” He sold his house and put all the money ($50,000, Canadian) into lottery tickets. For six months he checked numbers, but all he won was $1,500 and two travel vouchers that expired the day he picked them up. The big prize eluded him. As he fingered bundles of useless lottery tickets that covered his kitchen table and other work surfaces, he told a news reporter: “This green paper is the criminal element of our society. . . . You know, these tickets look like money, but they’re just garbage.” He said he would never gamble another dollar on a lottery ticket. “After this,” he added, “I wouldn’t even trust a blind man.”
Taj Mahal in Danger?
◆ The Taj Mahal at Agra, India, is the country’s biggest tourist attraction, accounting for much of the $500 million (U.S.) yearly tourist business. After surviving India’s hot sun and monsoon rains for over 300 years, this gleaming mausoleum of white marble and alabaster now appears to be in danger. Air pollution from Agra’s heavy industrialization during the past few years has caused “discoloration, flaking, pitting and blackening of fractured portions,” declares India’s former culture minister, Renuka Devi Barkataki. And there are plans for a new oil refinery to be built 24 miles (39 km) north of Agra. If the refinery is not moved farther away, claims an Indian environmental engineer, the Taj Mahal “will crumble down in 30 years.”
Lowest Crime Rate in Europe
◆ The Greeks reportedly enjoy the lowest crime rate in Europe and one of the lowest crime rates in the world. For example, during 1978 the rate for murders was 1.3 per 100,000. By contrast, Italy’s murder rate was 3.8, and in the United States, 8.8. According to criminal lawyer Alexander Lykourezos, one reason for the low crime rate is the attitude the family takes toward one of its members who commits a serious crime. “The usual family response,” said the lawyer, “is, ‘How could you bring such shame on the family?’—not, ‘Why did you do it?’ or ‘How have we failed you?’ A response like that from people you care about is the most effective deterrent there is.” However, Nicholas Androulakis, professor of criminal law at Athens University, explains: “The incidence of those crimes condemned by the community—rape, murder, robbery—are very low in Greece, but those crimes not popularly considered reprehensible, like white-collar crime and tax evasion, which is endemic here, are quite high.” Yet even when white-collar crimes are included, the arrest rate in Greece for 1977 was only 2,486 per 100,000, compared with a U.S. rate of 5,055 per 100,000.
Third-World Debt
◆ The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, meeting in Manila, reported that debt in the developing countries increased from $74,000 million (U.S.) in 1970 to $244,000 million in 1977. The cost of interest on these debts in 1976 alone came to $37,000 million.
Greece: Health Education
◆ The Greek government is producing TV commercials to educate the population about the dangers of smoking and overeating. “Fatness shortens life,” one commercial emphasizes. Dr. Spyros Doxiades, the Minister of Social Services and who began the health education campaign, said: “Greeks have to be told that many of their traditional habits are bad for their health.” He added: “Greeks are heavier than they should be because they have traditionally associated obesity with health. . . . Greek mothers stuff their already overweight children and are proud of their kids’ fatness and appetite because they think this spells health.” The Minister of Social Services began the health education campaign after a survey revealed that Greeks, particularly women and children, were between 12 and 16 pounds (5.4 and 7.3 kg) heavier than the average in the United States and Europe. Also, a survey shows that nearly half of adult Greeks interviewed were disbelieving or ignorant of the dangers of smoking. According to a government health researcher, 19 out of every 100 Greek men suffer premature death from ailments related to this habit.
Children with Heart Risk Factors
◆ Professor Thomas B. Gilliam of the University of Michigan’s department of physical education has spent several years doing research on children’s physical fitness. He found that about half of 400 Michigan schoolchildren showed one or more heart-disease risk factors, believed to be caused by a lack of exercise and a sedentary life-style. He explained: “Children are transported to and from school, extracurricular and even sports activities. They sit for long hours watching television and consume lots of high calorie junk food. As a result, children are showing increasing evidence of high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, and other conditions which have been shown to be associated with heart disease in adults.”
“Ponderous-Purse Disease”
◆ According to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine, many women are the victims of a common muscle and nerve disorder. It includes pain, tenderness and spasms in the muscles of the upper shoulders and side of the neck. It is attributed to the shoulder purses some women carry, which weigh more than 10 pounds. Hence, the tongue-in-cheek name, “ponderous-purse disease.” The problem is usually simply remedied by lightening the contents of the purse. But many women fail to act. “Reduction of shoulder-purse contents is apparently more of a pain in the neck than the pain in the neck,” the Journal notes.
Antibiotics Neutralized
◆ The Office of Technology Assessment in the United States concludes that various diseases in humans are becoming resistant to antibiotics such as penicillin and tetracycline. The reason given is that about 40 percent of all antibiotics produced in the country is used in animal feed to fatten poultry, hogs and cattle. Consumers of these animals, it is thought, develop an immunity to the antibiotics, hence these become ineffective when used in treating disease.
More Wives Working
◆ A recent census study reports that two thirds of the wives in the United States worked during the past year, one of the most fundamental changes in the family in the past 20 years. The most common reason for the increase is wanting to supplement family income. However, some wives worked because of wanting their own career. Whatever the reason, the ones most likely to be hurt will be children who will not get the attention they require.
Karate Can Kill
◆ An Illinois teen-ager recently was convicted of the karate-chop death of another youth. The two had become involved in an argument; then the karate student knocked the other youth unconscious by a karate blow to the neck. Eight days later the victim died.
Tough Teeth
◆ Squirrels’ teeth rank with the toughest of any in the animal realm. They have proved it in Queens, a section of New York city. In a 70-square-block area lined with trees, squirrels have bitten through the sheathing of telephone lines in 834 places. Five miles out of a total of nine miles of telephone cable will have to be replaced entirely. The squirrels eat through lead sheathing and also through polyethylene. Without protective covering, rainwater can seep through to the wires and cause short circuits or other electrical damage. Company engineers are ‘going back to the drawing boards’ to find solutions.